Rory McIlroy pays tribute to Tiger Woods and shows he could end Open drought

Rory McIlroy tipped his cap at Tiger Woods as his golfing hero walked up the 18th fairway for the final time at St Andrews on Friday in his own heartfelt tribute. Sunday evening, if all goes as planned by McIlroy, it will be the rest of the peloton who will take his cap off.

So far so good. After two laps, he got into position for a weekend tilt at the Claret Jug. He hit the gas pedal with three successive birdies at the start of his second-round back nine to bring the galleries wallowing in Woods nostalgia back to the present day. The Rory's roars echoed through the Old Course.

But they were nothing compared to the cheers when the Northern Irishman broke through from 23ft in the 17th after a superb approach from light rough for a rare birdie at the Road Hole. Bonus-wise, it was colossal - a banking error in his favor - and it saw him sign for a 68.

At 10 under par he is three shots behind leader Cameron Smith and one behind Cameron Young, but McIlroy's own engine is working well enough to persuade him he can burn the twin cams. We've been here before of course this year in what has been a major near-miss season for McIlroy. When it comes to big events, there are no guarantees.

But after a second-place finish at the Masters, eighth at the USPGA and fifth at the US Open, he earned himself another golden chance. Friday was a day of being patient for him. Nothing happened quickly and for long periods nothing happened at all.

Twice turn on the ground to a complete stop as slowing has become prohibited. A 15-minute traffic jam on the fifth tee left McIlroy sitting on his golf bag chewing on an energy bar, then chewing fat with playing partner Xander Schauffele, laughing at videos on a phone.

It looked more like a local muni scene than the Open, but the Old Course, for all its history, is built for durability rather than speed with its intersecting fairways and shared greens. There was a similar hiatus on the 12th, but this time it was due to human error when Schauffele kicked off his practice in a gorse bush and got into a lengthy discussion with a rules official about his options. p>

The Olympic champion ended up with an unplayable lie and a one-stroke penalty. For McIlroy, there were no such dramas. Two hard shots shredded the par four 10th and 12th and with a ten-foot putt between the two at the short 11th, he birdied a hat-trick on his card.

He was a hair's breadth from making a four-for-four at the tough 13th, throwing his shoulders back in frustration after jumping 27 feet. A flyer at 15 sees him kick back but he's all forgiven with his genius work at 17.

The iron in the green landed with the softness of a dandelion head fluttering on a summer breeze; the putt was firm and true. As he fell you started to think this might be his week. This Open has been a stress-free experience so far for him. If that remains the case over the weekend it would be a surprise - this is major championship golf after all - but McIlroy's head seems in the right place to deal with it.

As the heatwave hits, the end of McIlroy's major drought, which lasted eight long years, may be in sight. A great champion left the St Andrews stage; another is ready to dance to it.